![\"Me](\"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Me-and-Ishi-Oct-2014-225x300.jpg\")
<\/a><\/center><\/p>\nI\u2019m pointing the finger of blame squarely at Ex-PH2; she\u2019s the one who suggested an article on archery for TAH. I am not a writer like she is, so I hesitated at first; however, the idea grew on me. Perhaps, in the lines that follow, you\u2019ll see why. <\/p>\n
I\u2019ve owned and handled firearms all of my life, and didn\u2019t pick up a bow until I was 50 years old. That is one of the great regrets of my life now, and if you were to ask me why I never shot a bow until recently, the only answer I could have given you was that it never occurred to me. Having been an archer for about three years, I wonder why it never occurred to me. <\/p>\n
The bow is an ancient weapon, and archeologists keep pushing the age of the weapon back further and further as evidence is found around the globe for older and older examples of this tool. 3000 years would be a practical working age \u2013 the classic shape vividly depicted in art on walls and pottery — but there is evidence its existence goes back much further than that. Today, an echo of this practical weapon is found in modern armies, in the example of the crossbow, still used now as it was so long ago, to carry cord across rivers and silently remove sentries. <\/p>\n
There are two major tracts in the current archery world, modern compound bows versus traditional bows. I have never shot a compound bow; I began with a traditional recurve bow, and have since begun the shift to primitive archery, now working with a longbow. I have gone from composite arrows with state-of-the-art steel arrowheads, to wooden arrows with hand forged, iron arrowheads. The local archery shop where I shot my first target bow is both bemused and fascinated by my work with \u201cstick and string.\u201d I am very much out of place on their indoor range, with my hickory longbow and wooden arrows, amid rows of beautifully modern, technically advanced compound bows; and yet, they make me welcome \u2013 and ask questions. Why do I shoot a primitive bow? Why not take up a fine new compound bow, a powerful and certainly lethal weapon? I do have several reasons, which are why I decided to write this article for TAH. Those reasons are the bedrock of why I shoot a primitive bow. <\/p>\n
As I have mentioned in the past, I consider myself a prepper, and with that mindset comes the question of weapons. Very simply, bows are sustainable weapons. Not only do the bows and arrows last for a long time and are reusable, but they are renewable. It does take skill to build both bows and arrows, but nothing compared to attempting to make, or repair, a modern firearm. Another reason is a major attraction of this weapon \u2013 it is silent. Not only does it not push animals out of an area with loud noise, it also does not alert other people in the area to your presence. Another reason is that a bow is a lightweight weapon, and easily carried over long distances. My personal opinion is that primitive bows are better for prepping than compound bows, because of their simplicity, but someone skilled with compound bows may wish to differ with that opinion. For someone of basic skills such as myself, the primitive bow is more attractive. <\/p>\n
And what about my firearms? As a prepper, my collection of firearms has simplified; the bow has taken the place of all of my medium range weapons. If you should decide to join the ranks of modern archers, you will have to answer this question for yourself. I can tell you that the bow sings a siren\u2019s song, the song of an ancient weapon that even today, maintains pride of place as both a practical and lethal weapon. In Zen, it is said that a master archer first takes aim at himself. I invite you to explore the mystery that awaits you as you bring your first bow to full draw. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
From the pen of Pinto Nag; I\u2019m pointing the finger of blame squarely at Ex-PH2; she\u2019s … Drawing the Bow: Archery in the Modern Gun Culture<\/span>Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":66536,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[170],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-66534","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-who-knows"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66534","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=66534"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66534\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/66536"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=66534"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=66534"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=66534"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"longbow](\"https:\/\/www.azuse.cloud\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/longbow-Otzi-2016-169x300.jpg\")
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